GEORGIA STATE BOARD WAIVES CLASS SIZE REQUIREMENT — The Georgia State Board of Education waived the class-size cap for districts for the fourth consecutive year. The ruling was based on anticipated student population growth alongside a $1 billion shortfall for districts, resulting in fewer teaching and personnel positions. Additionally, district officials are permitted to use [...]

Are you always on the move but want to keep up with what’s going on at NASBE? No worries… ‘NASBE Now’ will allow you to use your Android mobile device to keep up with the most recent posts and topics from NASBE’s website and Twitter account (@NASBE). Download NASBE’s Mobile App here: http://goo.gl/BF7MR Check out NASBE’s App [...]

Healthy Learning Environments are Paramount in ‘Green Cleaning’ Issue of NASBE’s State Education Standard Arlington, VA — At a time when the number of students with asthma has reached new highs—and when states and districts are increasingly focused on the importance of maximum attendance—the emergence of new, greener products and processes for cleaning schools is [...]

NEW YORK ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE DEAL WITH UNIONS ON EDUCATOR EVALUATIONS — Hours before a deadline imposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he, along with state education officials and teachers union leaders, announced concord on the teacher evaluations format approved by the state Board of Regents last year. Teachers will be classified as “ineffective,” “developing,” “effective,” or [...]

Two assessment consortiums, SMARTER Balanced and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), have risen from the Common Core movement. Although it might seem counterintuitive to have different tests for the same set of standards, policymakers see a potential upside in having two distinct means of assessing Common Core. Replacing individual [...]

NASBE responds to President’s education budget proposal but takes issue with expansion of competitive grant programs.

Arlington, VA — A statement by Jim Kohlmoos, Executive Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education, on the release of President Obama’s FY’13 budget proposal: “It is always gratifying to see such great emphasis placed on public education in an Administration’s budget—especially now, when states are struggling to balance their own budgets. But [...]

The U.S. Department of Education approved the waiver requests of 10 states from certain requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in return for implementing a host of state-driven initiatives. The states– Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee–must implement college-and-career-readiness standards, develop teacher evaluations tied to student [...]

Arlington, VA — A statement by Jim Kohlmoos, Executive Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education, on the announcement that Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee were granted waivers from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): “States and state boards of education are at [...]

In 2009, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Chief Council of State School Officers (CCSSO) launched the Common Core State Standards initiative, a state-led effort to construct national academic standards that would prepare students for success in higher education and future careers. In the subsequent years, 45 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto [...]